


With A Good Criminal Heart

by Codydarkstalker



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Venom (Comics), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Catholic Matt Murdock, M/M, Moral Dilemmas, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Battle of New York (Marvel), Post-Venom (Movie 2018), Teen Peter Parker, Timeline What Timeline, Wade Wilson - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-05 01:43:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16358267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Codydarkstalker/pseuds/Codydarkstalker
Summary: When a vigilante who hears voices and may or may not have multiple personalities and powers granted by long dead Egyptian Gods is about to be put to death for their crimes, Matt Murdock intervenes. In an attempt to get media sympathy for the unstable man, he invites renowned journalist Eddie Brock to come to New York to tell the other side of the story. Once there, Eddie and Venom find themselves drawn into the super powered mess that is NYC and confronting the ideas of right and wrong that go along with wearing a mask.





	1. I Am Sick Of People Being Sick Of My Shit

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for all the love and comments, I honestly didn't think this story would get much interest! You guys are amazing and the comments are great, thank you all so much for reading!

 

Eddie pulled the meat off of the spare rib and set the bone to the side of his plate. As soon as he did, Venom, who had been coiled around his neck like an extremely friendly boa constrictor, reached out and grabbed it, crunching the bone between it’s overly numerous teeth and swallowing with obvious relish.

 

Anne stared, a bite of crab rangoon stalled halfway to her mouth. “Did...did it just…?” She gestured to Eddie’s plate with her chopsticks. “It eats bones?” Her voice rose half an octave, a tiny bit of panic creeping in.

 

Dan looked at Venom, curiosity plain on his face. “Probably a good source of calcium. It repaired Eddie’s bones, and to do some of the physical things it does, it must have to reinforce them somehow. I wonder if Eddie’s bone density is increased now…” He pulled out his phone and jotted some notes to himself, cramming an eggroll into his mouth. He had been keeping a scientific journal, trying to figure out how Eddie and Venom worked after their fusion. Eddie had pointedly refused any invasive tests like the MRI again, but he didn’t mind letting the man take his temperature from time to time or check his blood pressure. He figured it was smart to have someone making sure they were healthy.

 

“Venom just likes to eat I think. We get weird craving all the time.” Eddie held up another spare rib, this time with the meat on, and let them watch as venom ate the thing whole, the lump disappearing into it’s body. “This is pretty close to a balanced meal for us.”

 

Anne’s panicked look was replaced by a familiar look of almost maternal concern. “You need to be careful and try and take care of yourself Eddie.” She popped a wonton into her mouth and stared at him thoughtfully as he chewed. ‘Speaking of which, have you given any thought to my suggestion?”

 

“To move in here with you too like a kid who dropped out of college and comes back home?” Eddie snorted and stuffed a bite of lo mien into his mouth. He liked Chinese take out, they both did, him and Venom. He missed the New York kind sometimes, the soupy chicken chow mein with the packets of greasy fried noodles on the side. “Yeah, we’re good.” Venom caught the bit of noodle that fell out of his mouth and swallowed it down.

 

Dan and Anne looked at each other, Anne biting at her lip. “Listen, Eddie.” She leaned forward and put her hand over his. It was small and warm and very familiar. “We’re just worried about you. I mean, it’s been a while since the incident and you basically spend all of your time alone in that rat hole of an apartment in a terrible neighborhood.”

 

Eddie yanked his hand away, feeling Venom winding around his fingers. “Hey! We’re not alone, we have each other. And I’ve been working. My piece on Kasady just ran last week and it got national coverage.” He poked at a bit of orange chicken on his plate. “Listen, I know you think I should stop freelancing and go back to the office and get a nice walk up in a better part of town. But, we’re happy, in our own way.”

 

_ Let’s go home Eddie, don’t want to be here anymore. _

 

Eddie reached up and pet the length of Venom’s body where it was draped around his neck. It squeezed for a moment and then sank back under his skin, wrapping itself around his ribs. “I-We’re gonna go now, okay? I have some research to do on my piece and I was gonna stop by and check on Mrs. Chen cause some kids were throwing rocks at her window..” He moved as he spoke, backing away from the table and grabbing his leather jacket form the hook by the door.

 

“Eddie!” Anne pushed away from the table As he hurriedly pulled his boots on. “Oh come on Eddie I just wanted to talk about-”

 

Dan interrupted her, pulling her tight to his side and forcing a smile. “Just wait a sec, okay Eddie? I can put some leftovers in a bag for you to take home, no way we can eat all this.” he gestured back at the table and then hurried into the kitchen to get tupperware.

 

Eddie stood by the door, shuffling his feet awkwardly. He missed Anne sometimes. She had been a good girlfriend, even when he wasn’t a great boyfriend, but right now he was remembering how hard it had been sometimes, to feel her scrutinizing his life. 

 

Anne stepped closer and leaned in. “Listen Eddie, I just worry okay, me and Dan both worry.” She gently laid a hand on his face, feeling the days old stubble. “I just want you to know you have options. You don’t have to live in a crappy apartment, or worry about the crappy job, or even deal with-”

 

Eddie cut her off before she could say it. He knew what she was about to say, but she didn’t know what she meant, not really. She was going to say he didn’t have to live with Venom, as if it was forced on him, as if he didn’t feel more perfect and whole with venom than he had in a long time. He yanked his head back and set his lips in a firm line. 

 

Anne pulled her hand away and it looked like she was going to say something else, but Dan walked up, holding a green cotton tote bag full of leftover Chinese food. So Eddie did the only sensible thing and grabbed the food and ran, shouting his thanks over his shoulder as he pulled on his helmet and got on his bike. Whatever they might have said back was drowned out by the roar of the engine, and then they were too far away for it too matter, the house fading into the darkness behind him. 

 

Eddie managed to make it home without incident, and Venom was mostly quiet on the drive. It liked the motorcycle, the speed and freedom of it, but whenever Eddie rode it would coil around his chest, constantly alert and ready in case of an accident. It was nice, having something that was always looking out for him.

 

Pulling up to their apartment, Eddie could see it the way Anne saw it. There was a homeless man in a sleeping bag camped out in the alley. There was graffiti on the mailbox, and a few of the upper story windows that had been shot out were still covered with plywood and plastic wrap. Eddie could see all that. But he couldn’t bring himself to hate the place the way Anne did.  

 

_ Let’s go inside Eddie. _ Venom gave Eddie a little internal push, moving them towards the door.

 

Eddie nodded and took over, navigating them inside and upstairs to their apartment. It looked much the same as it had months ago. It was still small, and the furniture was still cheap. But here and there were signs of life, of change. The kitchen was stocked to almost overflowing with snacks and canned goods and random bags and boxes of this or that which Eddie had let Venom pick when they went food shopping. He had dragged his bed by the television because Venom got bored at night while Eddie slept. 

 

He grabbed his laptop and threw himself on the futon, burying himself in the blankets. Venom slipped out of his sleeve and grabbed the remote, pressing buttons experimentally until the screen sprang to life. It busied itself with a wildlife special on sharks while Eddie went through his emails. Business had been picking up. His Bills were all paid up, and a streaming service had gotten the rights to put his old investigative specials online so he was getting more eyes on his work. Which was good, and bad. 

 

His work covering the evils of the Life Foundation was good, it was solid. But the story that had driven him from New York still hung over everything like a dark shadow. Eddie hadn’t meant for things to go as wrong as they had. When he announced the identity of the Sin Eater, the serial killer that had been terrorizing the city, he had felt certain, had felt it down to his bones. So when it was revealed that the man who had confessed to him was a fake, and that the real killer was still at large, he had been destroyed. Suddenly he was just some tabloid hack chasing ambulances and printing anything he could. Forget that the man who confessed had given him details, had been so convincing. It was his fault. It was only now, after his big interview with Kasady, that people were beginning to forget.

 

He looked through his emails, half paying attention to them and half to the program Venom was watching. Most of it was junk. Offers from crappy tabloid to write stories about the evil science Drake had been doing, or pieces on aliens. He had no intention of writing any such thing, and had in fact gone through great lengths to hide the details of the symbiotes and the existence of Venom from the world. He clicked through half a dozen emails before he saw one that really caught his attention. It was from a law firm in New York City. Nelson and Murdock.

 

**Matthew Murdock**

123 W 45th St

New York City, 10036

(212) 555-1234

m_murdock@nelsonmurdock.com

Edward Brock,

Hello, my name is Matthew Murdock. I am an attorney in New York, currently representing a man named Marc Spector. He is the reason I am reaching out to you. Mr. Spector is being held right now on multiple charges of murder, assault, and stalking. I have no doubt in my mind he has done the things he was accused of. Mr. Spector is a very troubled man. I have spoken to him, as have members of law enforcement and dozens of doctors. 

Mr. Spector is a vigilante, and a former mercenary. He is exceptionally physically gifted, and seems to be reasonably intelligent. However, he also suffers from what appears to be multiple personality disorder or Dissociative Identity Disorder. He claims he is a super hero given powers and a mission from a Moon God of some kind. He has a detailed story about an Egyptian Moon deity, Khonshu, who gives him his commands. In New York he would be declared not guilty of his numerous crimes by reason of mental disease or defect. The plan was to send him to a high security facility that would be able to give him treatment and keep him from harming anyone else.

The problem is that his many crimes were not limited to New York. It has been revealed he killed several criminals in Texas. Texas, you may not know, has no problem with executing the mentally ill. They plan to extradite Mr. Spector and charge him there. 

I am familiar with the writing you did on the Sin Eater years back. I know that you didn’t mean to let Emil Gregg take attention away from the real killer. I don’t think the media treated you fairly when the real killer was revealed. I am hoping that you still wish to prove yourself, and therefore will be willing to help me. I cannot in good conscience sit and watch while this man is murdered by the state of Texas. Right now his only hope is for the Governor to choose to move ahead with his trial in New York, so that he will be sentenced here and out of reach of the Texas Judiciary system.

I, and many others, read the interview you did with Cletus Kasady. You managed to present a well balanced view of his crimes and trial, and even make the man a somewhat sympathetic figure. An impressive feat with a man as evil as Kasady. If you could do the same with Mr. Spector I am sure public pressure would force the Governor to save him from death. 

Please, come to New York and speak with mr. spector and I. I am sure that once you speak to him you will understand why it’s wrong for him to killed. Much of the time he seems like a pleasant and harmless man, not a violent criminal at all. That is the part of him people should see. 

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Matthew Murdock

Eddie read the email, twice, and then slumped back on the bed. His phone buzzed next to him, a picture of Anne lighting up the screen. She was checking up on him again, the way she had almost every night. He groaned and rolled back over, pulling up a price list for the cost of a flight to New York.

“Hey Venom, ready for a vacation?”


	2. Nobody Ever Sees It Coming, No Exceptions At All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Eddie eats a lot of Chinese food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am leaning into comic* Eddie's height of 6ft 2. So uh, Tom Hardy is wearing lifts for the rest of this fic.

Foggy drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and took a deep breath. The traffic leading to the pick up lot at JFK Airport, was, as usual, a nightmare. The cars ahead of them were barely moving, and it was like staring into a sea of brake lights. 

“I still think this is a massive waste of time Matt.” Foggy slammed his foot on the brakes as yet another car edged in front of them. “I mean, we have dozens of cases we could be focusing on, some of them even defending actually innocent people.”

Matt sighed and rested his head back against the worn out leather seats. They had gone over the same exact conversation a dozen times already. Foggy seemed completely determined to just let the Spector case play itself out, even if that meant the man died.

“Listen, you can work on other cases, but I...I have to do this. This case means a lot to me, after everything that’s happened.” Matt shot out a hand to steady himself as Foggy slammed on the breaks again. They had moved approximately five feet.

Foggy sagged forward, bracing himself on the steering wheel. “I mean, I get he’s some kind of vigilante, and you have some honor among super assholes thing going on, but he’s not like you Matt! He murders people, he’s murdered a lot of people.”

“He’s sick! And listen, I don’t have to want to save him because of that. I just- I just want to do it because it’s the right thing to do. Sometimes, it’s nice to save people as me and not Daredevil.” Matt leaned his head against the window and took in the noise and chaos outside the car. It was blurry in his mind’s eye, just a sea of rumbling motors and honking horns and the distant and tinny sounds of radios. Off in the distance, a faint rumble of thunder, and closer, the dull roar of the planes taking off and landing.

Foggy turned on the radio and they listened to the calming monotony of NPR until they managed to get to the pickup lot. By then it had started to rain, a grey drizzle pushed sideways by the wind. Eddie was waiting for them. He was standing under a sign, dripping wet, with his hair plastered to his face and a scarf wrapped tight around his neck and face against the cold. 

“Hello Mr. Brock, your ride is here!” Foggy pulled up the hood of his jacket and got out of the cra t help Eddie put hit mismatched luggage in the trunk. “Sorry the weather had to suck so bad, must make you regret leaving California, huh?”

Eddie shrugged and slipped into the back seat of the car, his knees bumping the backs of the seats. “It’s not too bad, it rains in the Bay a lot.” He shrugged out of his wet jacket sand rubbed his arms for a moment before shoving his arm out between the front seats to shake. “Call me Eddie by the way.”

Froggy buckled himself in and turned awkwardly in his seat for a quick handshake, and then coughed awkwardly as he noticed Matt, still sitting with his arms at his side. “Uh, thanks, Foggy Nelson, I work with Matt. He uh…”

Eddie glanced up at the rearview mirror and grimaced, awkwardly pulling his hand back. “Oh, uh, I see, sorry.” he rubbed at his head, wet hair standing up at odd angles. “Uhm, can you guys turn up the heat a bit?”

Foggy turned the dial and then pulled out of the parking lot, once again joining the endless flow of traffic. “So...Matt told you about the uh, situation?”

Eddie shuffled forward, leaning between the front seats to soak up as much hot air as he could. “He gave me a bit of information, and I did some digging on the case. It seems like Spector is...well he seems complicated. I can work with complicated.”

Foggy snorted. “Complicated is one way of putting it. Ten pounds of crazy in a five pound bag might be another.”

Matt closed his eyes and tilted his head back, listening to the other men talk as they inched their way back towards Hell’s Kitchen. He took a deep breath and held it for a moment. There were the familiar smells in the car, the spilled coffee soaked into the carpet, the cigarette smoke from Foggy had taken up the habit right before the bar exam. Foggy himself, a familiar combination of soap and cucumber hand lotion and chapstick. 

Eddie smelled very different. Eddie smelled like cinnamon gum and sweat and musk. And a hint of something sharp and strange, somewhere between citrus and the metallic tang of blood. It was unlike anything Matt had smelled before. Matt stilled and focused, trying to see wihtout sight the way Stick had taught him, to soak in all of the available information. It wasn’t just his smell that made Eddie strange. There was a sound, when he moved. At first Matt had thought it was outside the car, tires on the slick road, rain dripping between the window and door. But it was Eddie, a small sounds, something slick and wet that moved when he did. 

“That sound good Matt?”

Matt jolted out of his reverie, sitting up a bit. “Sorry, uh what?” he asked sheepishly.

Foggy shot him a sideways glance. “You cool with Chinese food? Eddie said he missed New York style Chinese food, I was thinking Kin Yip?”

Matt nodded hurriedly. “Yeah sounds good to me.” he tried to focus more on the conversation. Foggy and Eddie were chatting about the construction projects that had happened since The Event. The aliens had destroyed a sizeable chunk of manhattan, and now new buildings seemed everywhere, crumbling concrete replaced by metal and glass that reflected the stormy skies.

Kin Yip was the same as ever though. It had been there for as long as anyone could remember. A tiny hole in the wall joint with a faded white sign shaped like a take out box in the window. Foggy parked the car and they made a mad dash inside with their coats raised over their heads to keep off the worst of the rain. Inside, the air was warm and smelled strongly of garlic and sesame oil. The restaurant was only half full, a few tables of college aged kids eating lo mein and egg rolls, and an elderly couple in the back cuddled together with steaming bowls of wonton soup.

“Hello, take a seat, be right with you!” The lone waitress smiled and hurried past them with a tray full of fortune cookies and Chinese donuts.

Matt slid into a booth and felt Foggy take a seat next to him. Eddie practically filled out the bench across from them on his own, his worn boots knocking into Matt’s shiny shoes under the table.

“I’ll take my regular order,” Matt told Foggy, sliding his unopened menu over to the other man. He always got the same thing. Sesame chicken and shrimp fried rice and a house green tea. It was the same thing he and his dad had gotten when he was a kid, eating take out in the living room and watching old boxing matches his dad had taped off the tv.

The waitress came back, red faced from rushing around but smiling. “Hey! You two again, you know you were just here this weekend right?” She laughed as Foggy blushed, hiding his face behind his menu.

“Yeah, well this time we have a guest!” Foggy gestured to Eddie. “Now, I’m gonna have the beef and broccoli with vegetable fried rice, Matt’s gonna have his usual, and Eddie…” He gestured to the other man.

Eddie coughed, clearing his throat loudly. “Uhm, can I get an order of spare ribs and pork fried rice? And some scallion pancakes and shrimp rolls. And egg drop soup, and maybe a few of the pork buns?”

The waitressed squinted at her pad as she wrote the order down, her handwriting becoming more and more cramped as she struggled to fit it all in on the the little page. “Okay, so, sp[are ribs, fried rice, pancakes, shrimp rolls, pork buns, soup?” She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Is that it?” 

Eddie thought for a moment and then nodded to himself. ‘Also, an order of chicken chow mein with the crispy noodles on the side.”

The waitress scribbled it down in a margin and hurried away, order pad clutched to her chest and muttering under her breath in rapidfire Cantonese.

Eddie turned his attention back to the men across from him. “I uh, really missed Chinese food.” he shrugged and then turned his attention to his wet clothes. He slid his jacket off and pulled away his scarf, laying it across his lap. “So, uh, Marc Spector?”

Foggy leaned back as if afraid the man would lunge across the table and eat him if the food didn’t come out fast enough. “Uh yeah, Matt knows the most about it. I’ve been covering other cases while he focuses on that.”

Matt nodded and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Marc is a complicated man. He spent a few years in the Marines, and then did work as a mercenary. He did work internationally, contracting out as opportunities arose. That part is the simple part. It’s after that things get really strange.” 

The waitress arrived with Matt’s tea and waters for the table, and Matt settled back and explained what he could of Marc Spector’s background. Even after working with the man for weeks and reading every case file and note he could get his hands on, the details were still disappointingly few. Marc’s own explanation of the events that had given him his “powers” was more like an Indiana Jones film than real life. He claimed to have been working for an African mercenary who wanted to rob an archeological dig site. He had killed the man in charge of the dig, and Spector had challenged the mercenary to one on one combat. He had been wounded in the fight and left for dead when locals, who still worshipped the moon god that the temple being dug up was dedicated to, dragged him up on their alter, where he was saved by the god Khonshu, giving him the strength to kill the mercenary and making himself the “avatar of Khonshu”, now tasked with fighting evil in the world.

The waitress came and went as Matt talked, bring out more and more trays full of food. Eddie listened intently, taking notes on his phone with one hand and shoveling food into his mouth with the other as if using the chopsticks took no effort. 

“So, do you think he’s for real?” Eddie asked, mouth full of fried noodles.

“What?” Foggy leaned back to be clear of any flying drops of duck sauce. “What do you mean is he for real? You think there’s really an ancient god living in some guy’s head and ordering him to kill people?”

Eddie shrugged and carefully wrapped a pork bun in a scallion pancake before shoving the abomination into his mouth whole. “I mean, Thor is real right? Like, big blonde guy with a magic hammer and magic evil brother? So thor is real, and Loki. And I think Odin is real too right? Like, those are gods, but they’re real. So is this Khonshu guy real? Like walking around real or hidden in some dusty old book about ancient civilization real?” 

Matt paused for a moment. He hadn’t thought too much about the possibility that Spector was actually some kind of human host for a god. First of all, despite Thor and Loki putting in surprise appearances, he was still catholic. One God and one God only. But aside from that, Spector had shown no real signs of super powers, nothing on the level of an Asgardian or any other super powered being. In fact, Spector was only remarkable in that he was largely unremarkable. He was strong and fast and in great physical condition, but none of it was what a person would describe as supernatural. 

“I haven’t seen any evidence that Marc Spector is more than a normal human, nor have any of the doctors that have examined him to my knowledge. I think the only way to proceed is to believe the diagnoses of mental illness. It’s also the only thing that saves him.” Matt took a long sip of his tea. 

Eddie chewed at his lip and stared at the empty plates in front of him. “Yeah, I guess mental defect by way of super powers isn’t a defense huh? Not yet anyways.” He shrugged to himself and speared a shrimp roll with a chopstick, shoving it in his mouth. 

The conversation died down after that. Eddie finished hid food in a startlingly short amount of time and threw a few bills on the table sheepishly. Foggy took his leftovers in a box, and they got up, headed back to the car. Matt waited while Foggy said goodbye to the waitress, and then he heard it. A strangely wet crunching sound coming from Eddie’s coat pocket. He leaned forward to get a better listen, but the noise stopped suddenly as eddie pulled his coat on and wrapped his scarf around his neck again. 

Foggy opened the door and they headed back outside, Matt hanging slightly back to listen for the noise again. After a few minutes of nothing he guessed it must have been someone in the restaurant, maybe cracking open a snow crab. He couldn’t imagine what else would make a noise like that.


	3. Just A Catch In My Throat And A Ringing In My Ears To Call My Own

 

Eddie got out of the car and thanked Foggy for the ride before grabbing his luggage. He was staying at a cousin’s apartment while they were out of the country, doing a year abroad. It was a nice place, nicer than the one he had left back in California, with fresh paint on the walls and situated in a nice corner of Alphabet City. 

 

He lugged his things up several flights of stairs and settled in by dumping his stuff on the floor and collapsing on the neatly made bed. As soon as he hit the comforter Venom unwound from it’s place around his neck, letting go of the scarf disguise and shaking itself out until it’s head was craning above Eddie’s body, surveying the apartment. 

 

_ “It’s different.”  _ It observed, swooping this way and that to get a better look around.  _ “This place is nicer than yours Eddie.” _

 

“Well it’s ours now.” Eddie rolled over on the bed and spread out. Even the bed was nicer, a massive King sized thing with a real box spring and frame and matching linens. It felt a bit like laying on a cloud, and he wasn’t sure if he would ever get up again.

 

_ “Eddie, we’re hungry.”  _ Venom gnashed it’s teeth, mouth snapping at the air.

 

“We just ate enough Chinese food for six! That was only an hour ago!” Eddie whined, kicking his feet. As he said it, his stomach rumbled, loudly. “Ah fuck.”

 

Outside the sun had set, but the sky seemed no less dark, the clouds catching the lights form the city below. Eddie rolled off the bed and moved to the window in the living room. It was painted shut, but with Venom it was easy enough to yank it open, letting in a blast of cool air. Eddie shivered there for a moment before venom swallowed him up, warm and comforting. They crouched in the window for a moment, breathing in the crisp air, and then they were out and up, heading to the roof. 

 

The buildings were tightly packed together, it was easy to move between them quickly. Together like this, moving as one, they got out of the neighborhood quickly. Eddie knew that was important, no eating people close to home. So they moved, running across rooftops and jumping over the gaps, moving upwards, into the sky, was they went. They climbed window ledges and fire escapes and grabbed tight to the stonework and easily moved up into the air, the cold nothing to them. 

 

Then they heard it, the noise they were looking for, a struggle in an alley below. A muffled argument and then the dull sickening sound of something blunt hitting a person, the painful exhale and thud of a body hitting the ground.

 

They jumped off the roof they were on, and fell into the alley thirty stories down. The concrete gave way beneath them, spiderweb cracks spreading out around them. The man in front of them was holding a metal baseball bat, held in a white knuckle grip. He was looming over a person on the ground, a person with a torn puffer jacket and a dirty looking white beard, nearby there was a shopping cart, overturned, with blankets and plastic bags of aluminum cans spilled out everywhere. 

 

The man with the bat spun around, weapon raised defensively. “The fuck-?” The words had barely begun to leave his mouth before he was knocked back against the wall, a massive black tentacle smashing him against the brickwork.

 

Venom held the attacker there with one tentacle and turned their attention on the man on the ground. He had started to sit up, and was scrambling back against the other wall fo the alley, squeezing in tight against a dumpster and breathing fast. Venom pulled back from Eddie’s face, revealing just enough to make it clear there was a human at the center of the black writhing mass. 

 

“Here, take this and go.” A tendril shot out and scooped up the cart, sweeping in the things that had been dropped. “Take this and go.” They shoved the cart forward and the man launched up and grabbed it, hurrying off down the alley and towards the street. Eddie watched him go and then relaxed back, letting Venom swallow him up again entirely. 

 

_ “And now for you.” _ Venom’s mouth opened, saliva dripping onto the pavement. They could smell the man, fear tinged sweat and stale beer seeping out of every pore. His face was red and he was crying, babbling, trying to explain, but they could barely hear his words over the sounds of his blood moving in his body, the sloshing and bubbling of his guts. It should have been disgusting, but all they felt was a sort of righteous hunger. Eating this man would make the world better, he was a bad man. A thinner tentacle reached out and wrapped around the man’s throat, almost obscuring the thick black lines of a swastika tattoo. The tentacle squeezed and the man’s eyes bulged, and his feet kicked helplessly at the air.

 

They leaned in, mouth open, already tasting his blood and brain matter. Already feeling the crunch of bone of cartilage. And then they were hit by something with the force of a truck. 

 

_ “ARGH!” _ Venom fell back, tentacles shooting out before they fell over completely. The man fell to the ground, sagging against the wall, breath coming fast and shaky. _ “What-?” _

 

“Sorry, can’t let you do that!” A figure, much smaller than expected, flipped in the air with the force of the kick it had landed on venom’s face, and landed neatly on the ground, feet set into a wide fighting stance. “If you’re hungry I can recommend a great falafel truck though!”

 

Venom pushed forward off the tentacles, finding their footing again. The man on the ground groaned and managed to get to his hands and knees, and they lunged forward, trying to catch him before he could get away. The person in the costume was fast though, faster than a normal person by far. Before they could make their move, the person had jumped into the air, and suddenly there was a rain on punches and kicks coming down. Ones that, even through venom’s mass, hurt. 

 

Venom roared and lunged forward, not just with arms but with a half a dozen thick black appendages. The man avoided Venom’s hands, but he wasn’t prepared for the tentacles. They caught them around the legs and pulled down hard, slamming the hero against the ground with a loud smack. They grabbed him with more tentacles before he could get to his feet again, and squeezed hard, feeling the bones bend under the pressure. Venom ripped off the silly mask, mouth already open. They were hungry, and this pest had cost them a meal, so it would be a fine replacement. Under the mask, the man had messy brown hair and flushed cheeks and big brown eyes like a baby deer. He looked up at them, staring into the gaping maw, and trembled in their grip, and that’s when Eddie stopped.

 

The black pulled away and eddie looked at the boy, because that’s really what he was, through his own eyes. It was a kid. A strong kid, and one with a very fancy looking superhero suit, but a kid. Fuck. He cursed under his breath and they released the kid, letting him drop down to the ground, breath coming in pained gasps. 

 

_ Eddie we were gonna eat him. _

 

“We don’t eat kids.” Eddie shook his head and felt Venom pull back into him, Venom only covering his nose and mouth, the shadow of his thin hoodie obscuring his face in the low lights. He felt exposed suddenly, small and cold without the alien wrapped around him. “Fuck, you’re a baby.” He crouched down pulled the boy up so he was sitting.

 

“I’m not a kid!” The teen struggled a bit, swatting Eddie’s hands away. “I’m Spider-man, and I can’t let you run around my city eating people!” 

 

Eddie looked down at the kid’s chest, taking in the spider shaped logo. “Uh huh. Well here’s the thing-”

 

_ “We were really hungry.”  _ Venom’s face emerged out of Eddie and hung there in the air, teeth bared and saliva dripping.  _ “But we only eat the bad ones. I bet that Nazi asshole would have been tasty.” _

 

The boy looked up at Venom and his face went white as a sheet, freckles standing out in stark relief to the pale skin. “Oh, wow, um, yeah.” he looked to Eddie. “I-I think maybe you should come with me/” His voice cracked slightly, catching a bit on the last word. He moved his hand to grab at his fallen mask, pressing on the side where it would have covered his ear. It beeped for a moment and then there was the tinny sound of a voice coming from a small speaker.

 

“Kid? That you? What’s up, you’ve only been on patrol half an hour.”

 

“Mr. Stark, I think,” The kid looked between Eddie and Venom. “I think we might have a bit of a situation here.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, Tony is a morally grey guy. I love him, but this chapter won't paint him in the best light, mostly because him and Eddie disagree on a LOT of things. but don't worry the fic isn't gonna be about bashing Stark.

Keeping up with the kid was easy enough. It only took a moment of watching for Venom to find a way to mimic the web swinging. Eddie revelled in the fleeting moments of weightlessness as they moved through the air in fast smooth motions. Venom stretched and snapped like rubber, bridging the gaps between buildings and pulling them along towards Avengers Tower.

 

The kid didn’t drop them down to street level. Instead they scaled the side of the massive metal and glass building until they came to a seemingly random window. In the lower right corner was a tiny keypad, and the kid punched in a code and the window opened for them, allowing them to climb inside. 

 

“Huh, nice place,” Eddie commented, feeling Venom slide back to just being a mask and a jacket. 

 

The room was large, with low couches and plenty of pillows. On one side of the room was a bar and at the other was a very nice looking kitchen, with snacks and drinks set out along the marble countertop. A very nice superhero waiting room he guessed. He watched as the kid walked over to the far corner of the room and began talking to the ceiling, and then busied himself with the snacks. They were still hungry.

 

“Huh, nice spread at least.” Eddie grabbed a plate off a stack on the counter and began piling things onto it. A ripe looking mandarin orange, a packet of fancy looking chocolate cookies with a French label, a packet of beef jerky.

 

_ “Eddie, get some of the candy!”  _ venom urged, a tendril snaking out to grab at a pile of brightly wrapped chocolates.

 

“I was gonna, don’t worry!” Eddie smacked the tentacle away and grabbed a few fistfuls of candy, adding it to the growing pile on the plate. Then he turned his attention to the coffee maker, which was a thing of beauty. A few button presses later and he had a massive mug full of mocha latte, complete with a fancy leaf pattern in the foam.

 

By the time Tony Stark arrived Eddie and Venom had made themselves at home on one of the couches, a number of plates and cups piled up in front of them. Tony took one look at Eddie, who was feeding Venom bits of candy, and spun around to look at the kid, who was sitting across from Eddie and just staring in awe.

 

“You have GOT to be kidding,” Tony groaned and made a beeline for the coffee maker. “Okay, so what is it this time? Alien? Some kind of demon? Mutation maybe? What is it?”

 

Eddie exchanged a look with Venom. “I think he’s talking about us.”

 

Venom dipped his head and wiggled in an approximation of a shrug.  _ “I think he’s just mad we ate all the chocolate.” _

 

Tony came back and sat on the couch with the kid, who had taken off his mask and was sipping a mug of cocoa, and stared hard at Venom and Eddie. “Okay, so, Peter,...explain.”

 

Peter groaned. “Yeah, that might be hard.” He took another sip fo cocoa and began to explain. He had been on patrol, the same as most nights. It had all been going fine, as it usually did, when he noticed a bit of a commotion. He had stopped Venom from eating the guy-

 

“Nazi, we were gonna eat a Nazi,” Eddie interjected, unable to help himself. He had worked hard at training Venom not to try and eat nice people or pets or small children after all.

  
  


Peter looked between the two men and fidgeted with his spoon, tapping it on the side of his mug. “Okay, well you see, I was on patrol down near Alphabet City. It was going fine, a few muggings, a would be carjacker, but nothing exciting. AndthenIsawagiantmonsterabouttoeatsomeguy.” The last part came out all in a rush, Peter keeping his head down and his eyes on his drink. 

 

Tony listened, nodding, and then turned to Eddie and venom. “Okay, yeah, see I think we’re gonna have some problems. Cause eating people is sort of a no no around here.”

 

“Ah yeah, good to know. I hadn’t realized you were in charge of New York now. I mean, hey, better than Giuliani, but…” Eddie shrugged and leaned back in his seat, settling his boots onto the table in front of him.

 

Tony’s eye twitched slightly. “I’m sorry but if you think I’m going to let you run around **eating** people, and not do anything about it-”

 

Eddie barked out a little laugh. “Yeah, I don’t think this is really about you  **letting** us do anything. Listen Stark, you don’t know shit about us, but I know you pretty damn well. And I know that when it comes to killing, you have as much blood on your hands as anybody does!” 

 

Tony’s nostrils flared as he glared at the other man. “Alright, enough. You think you’re original, trying to shame me because i an arms dealer? Well you know what, that’s old news. I don’t do that anymore. I worked damn hard to make up for those mistakes, because I realized they were mistakes.”

 

Eddie shot a quick look at the kid. He was frozen in his spot on the other couch, eye’s wide and bouncing between the two older men like a ping pong ball. He hadn’t made a sound since explaining how he had found them.

 

“Yeah, you sure seem like a responsible guy. I mean, nothing says ‘good guy’ like a man creating a fucking child soldier,” he spat, pointing an accusing finger at peter. “You can try and sit up on some high horse, but you know what, you just think you and your little clique of friends are totally above reproach. The Avengers can do no wrong, but fuck everyone else. Every other vigilant and meta human has to play by your rules or get out of town, isn’t that right?”

 

Tony’s face went red with rage. “How DARE you?? I go out of my way to help this kid. The tech I’ve given him keeps him safe! And I’m not the reason he has powers, I’m just trying to make sure he uses them the right way!” The man was nearly shaking with rage.

 

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Yeah sure. You know, I’m not stupid, and I know you aren’t either. And that means I know as well as you do that with your resources you could make sure this kid becomes a productive and meaningful member of society without putting him danger or using him as your muscle on the street. You made a fucking choice Stark, and you don’t want to hear anyone say it might have been the wrong one. But you can’t fool me. You’re nothing special. Reed Richards, Stephen Strange. You’re a dime a fucking dozen now! You can’t turn around in this city without bumping up against some middle aged man with a high IQ and a hero complex popping out of the woodwork. But you know what, none of them has some under aged boy wonder helping out, and none of them would.”

 

In the blink of an eye Tony had lunged forward and grabbed Eddie by the collar of his shirt, pulling him up with an angry shout. A fraction of a second later and Tony was on the other side of the room, laying in the remains of an Eames chair, and Venom was roaring with rage, head tilted back. Tony’s face went pale at the sight of the monster standing in Eddie’s place. Venom’s mouth was wide open, dozens of teeth on display, and bits of it’s body were whipping around the room, tentacles lashing out and knocking things around wildly. 

 

“Oh, that, that was a mistake.” Tony pushed himself to his feet, the iron man suit clicking into place around his body.

 

He didn’t even have a chance to ready a blaster or fire up the pulsers in his boots before Venom was gone, smashing through the reinforced windows like they were sugar glass, and swinging off into the night. Tony hesitated a moment, but before he could give chase, the intercom system overhead beeped rapidly and a voice came out of the speakers.

 

“Mr. Stark, there is a situation in Madripoor. It requires your immediate attention.”

 

Tony cursed and the raised the face place on his mask, looking at peter, who seemed too shocked by what he had seen t move or say much of anything. “Listen kid, i gotta deal with this. But I need you to keep an eye on that...the situation. Okay?” he sounded exhausted suddenly, like all the fight had left him at once. 

 

“Y-yeah, sure thing Mr. Stark. Peter nodded quickly. “I can do that.” 

 

He watched as Tony forced a smile and then closed his face plate, rocking out through the hole in the building Venom had left behind. Peter stared after him for a moment before shaking his head and rousing himself. He had a job to do, and he was going to do it. He grabbed his mask off the table and pulled it on. He moved to the edge of the hole in the wall and looked out into the city. The city was one big sea of lights, and when he focused he could hear...everything. Sirens and shouting and crying and singing and music and the rumble of the trains under the streets. He let it all soak in, and then he felt it, the little buzz in the base of his spine, the spidey sense giving him the tiniest of nudges. There was a sound that was a little different. A thumping, crunching concrete. He took a deep breath and jumped out the window, swinging off in the direction of the sound. 


End file.
